Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 1.djvu/435

CHAP. IV. RAMESVARAM. 383 carried higher than we now see it. Had it been finished, 1 it would have been one of the largest of its class, and being wholly in stone, and consequently without its outline being broken by sculpture, it would have reproduced more nearly the effect of an Egyptian propylon than any other example of its class in India. The glory, however, of this temple resides in its corridors. These, as will be seen by the plan, extend to nearly 4000 ft. in length. The breadth varies from 17 ft. to 21 ft. of free floor space, and their height is apparently about 30 ft. from the floor to the centre of the roof. Each pillar or pier is 225. Central Corridor, Rame^varam. (From a Photograph.) compound, 12 ft. in height, standing on a platform 5 ft. from the floor, and richer and more elaborate in design than those of the Parvati porch at Chidambaram (Woodcut No. 221), and are certainly more modern in date. The general appearance of those corridors may be gathered from the annexed woodcut (No. 225), but no engraving, even on a much more extended scale, can convey the impression produced by such a display of labour when extended to an uninterrupted length of 690 ft. None of our cathedrals are 1 There is a view of it in the Atlas of plates that accompanies Lord Valentia's travels ; not very correct, but conveying a fair idea of its proportions.